Last with reenforced toe



may i, W23. HAEEfiW G. B. FIITZ LAST WITH REENFORCED TOE Filed vJuly l61919 [TED S- PAT FI'IZ, OF AUBURN, TJIAINE, A SSIGNOR TO FITZ-EIVIPIREDOUBLE PIVOT LAST COMPANY, OF AUBURN, MAINE, A CORPORATION OF MAINE.

LAST WITH REENFORCED TOE.

i application filed July 16, 1919 Serial No. 311,220.

'1 all '11) from, may concern:

zen of the United States, residing at Air.

burn, in the county ofAndroscoggin and titate of Maine, have inventedcertain I1nprovements in Lasts with Reenforced Toes, of which thefollowing description, in. connection with the accompanying drawings, isa specification, like reference characters on the drawings indicatinglike parts in the several figures.

This invention relates to lasts for making boots and shoes.

lthas been foundnecessary, in the case of lasts having sharply pointedtees, to ap* plysome form of reinforcen'icnt to the last at this point,as the unreenforced toe tip frequently breaks from various causes suchas abuse, percussive contact with the leveling machine roller and thelike.

Various modes of reinforcement have been suggested, but they are alleither incompletely effective to protect the toe tip, or are expensiveto manufacture, or both. It is the object of the present invention toprovide a reinforcement which will be effective and cheap tomanufacture.

A feature of the invention resides in a metallic reinforcing piececonstructed and arranged to be embei'lded in the last surface,preferably in a channel around the toe tip. in the illustrated last,this channel extends in a vertical plane, as l have found that structuremost efficacious in avoiding damage.

Another feature consists age for the reinforcing piece. 1 These andother features of the lIlV ElliJlOli will be understood from thefollowing); description of a preferred embodiment thereof shown in thedrawing in which, Fig. 1 is a sectional view of the reinforcement.

in a lasthavino; a metallic strip embedded 1n its surface and I Fig. 2shows the last prepared for the reiinforcement.

Fig. 8 shows the reinforcing strip,

Fig. at shows the sole of the last with the reinforcement in place, and

Fig. is a cross section of the reenforced toe.

The last to be reenforced may be of any typeand is shown as a blocklast. The illustrated last is of ordinary construction exreptiat the toetip. It ischanneled around the t-oetip between points about 1%; inchesback of the tip, the channel running preferably in one plane from onepoint to the other. The channel, shown at 10, is advantageously formedin a vertical plane, as shown, but the invention is not to be regardedas limited to vertical as distinct from, for example, horizontalreinforcement.

Holes 12, 14 are bored in the last at the extremities of the channel 10,respectively, and a rod or piece of wire, preferably in the form of aflat ribbon, is suitably bent and placed in the channel, its bent endsbeing driven into the holes 12, 14, thus holding the wire firmly inplace.

i The wire and channel are preferably so proportioned that the outsidesurface of the wire is flush with that of the last. A substantiallycontinuous surface is thus formed over which to last the toe, and thelast is offectively protected against damage from the blow of theleveling machine roller or from being dropped upon its toe tip.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A. last having a flat metal ribbon extending in a longitudinalvertical plane around the toe tip with its outer surface substantiallycontinuous with the surface of the toe tip.

9; Alast having a channel extending in a longtiudina];vertical. planearound the toe tip. a hole at each end of the channel directed towardthe interior of the last. and a metallic wire fitted in the channel. andholes.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

our n. run.

